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Michele Anna Jordan has been exploring and extolling the wonders of Wine Country food and wine since before the region was recognized by the rest of the country as one of the great culinary treasure spots.

She will talk with Dialogue about seasonal offerings in our farmers markets, what makes a great holiday meal, and how to figure out what YOU like (and why) based on your personal palate.

Whether discussing savory winter toppings for polenta, how to make posole for New Year's Day, or the ease of assembling spices to make Chai, one truth runs through her work: It is always better, cheaper and more nutritious when you make it at home. And her second truth: Who shares a table with us has always been more important than what is served.

Michele Anna is a doyenne of food writing, with over 20 cookbooks and as many years of print media work under her by line. She also provides a home for “food nerds” at her KRCB radio show “Mouthful” which has aired for 24 years. Michele Anna’s love of all things cooking began as a child, and grew as she raised her children on a dairy farm in Lakeville, east of Petaluma. During her thirteen years as a professional chef she received numerous awards. In early 1990s, she shifted her professional focus to writing. Michele now lives in Sebastopol.

Marsh Holm will be discussing Gauguin’s life through his art, from his first Salon entry, to the works inspired by Camille Pissarro and Paul Cezanne, to the works in which we see his artistic maturity. She will be addressing not only his paintings, but also works on paper and his wood carvings. And to talk about Paul Gauguin, is to look at and consider his personal relationships.

Marsha Holm has been a docent with the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco since 1979. In addition to giving tours and lectures in all areas of the museums’ collections, from Africa to the Pacific Islands, from the Americas to Europe, she has served in several administrative capacities, including new and continuing education for FAMSF docents. She has also assisted in training docents at the Blackhawk Museum, the Oakland Museum and the San Jose Museum of Art in addition to the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco.

Between the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, millions of people — in numbers not seen since — came to America in pursuit of a better, freer life. On the east coast most were met by the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. On the west coast between 1910 and 1940, most were met by the wooden buildings of Angel Island. Later, during World War II, Japanese and German POWs were detained there before being sent farther inland.

Today Angel Island is a California State Park. Portions of the Immigration Station have been preserved and can be visited. The walls hold a visible and durable testimony to the anguish of some of the immigrants --- poems carved with a classical Cantonese technique into the wooden walls of the barracks.

Our speaker, Katherine Toy, is a board member and served as the first Executive Director of the Angel Island
Immigration Station Foundation. She now serves as Executive Vice President of the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy managing Partnerships and Programs. Katherine’s ancestors traveled frequently between the United States and China in the early twentieth century, subjecting them to the interrogation faced by all Chinese during the era of exclusion.

Coyotes in our Midst- Is Compassionate Conversation Feasible?

These wild creatures are part of farm and ranch life. And they have moved from rural habitats into cities, arriving in populated areas of central and southern Marin in the last 15 years.

We know that native carnivores play a critical ecological role in our natural systems. But they can be frightening when they are close to our living areas. Why are they here? And are they becoming bolder about interacting with humans? Marin ranchers, civic leaders, scientists and concerned citizens are trying to figuring out if human communities can coexist synergistically with this kind of wildlife.

Our speaker Keli Hendricks is a rancher and retired horse trainer. After college at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, she became a professional trainer of cow horses, showing and training them for over 15 years. Today Keli lives and works on the 500-acre Bar C R Ranch in Petaluma. Coyotes, eagles, badgers and other wildlife share the pastures with the livestock on the Bar C R.

Keli is an ambassador for Project Coyote, a national non-profit organization based in Northern California whose mission is to promote compassionate conservation and coexistence between people and wildlife.